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2014 Indiana General Assembly preview

by Tony Cook and Barb Berggoetz
9:43 p.m. EST January 4, 2014

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The Indiana House of Representatives.
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The General Assembly kicks off its 2014 session Monday. Because lawmakers pass a biennial budget only in odd-numbered years, this year’s session will be an abbreviated one. Still, lawmakers are expected to debate some significant pieces of legislation before the session ends March 15.

Gay marriage ban: An amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions is expected to take center stage this year. Lawmakers approved the amendment in 2011, but must do so again before it can go before voters in November.

Early childhood education: Gov. Mike Pence has proposed a voucher program to help up to 40,000 low-income Hoosier children attend pre-school. Legislative leaders have expressed support for passing some type of program, but have expressed some concerns about how to pay for it.

Business tax: The governor wants to phase out Indiana’s tax on business equipment and machinery to make the state more competitive and to draw new investment and jobs. But such a move could increase property taxes for everyone else and cause local governments to lose a significant revenue stream.

Mass transit: Lawmakers are expected to take up a summer study committee’s recommendation to allow local governments in Central Indiana to expand mass transit.

Child care regulation: A series of articles in The Indianapolis Star has exposed deep flaws in how the state regulates day care safety, prompting a bipartisan group of lawmakers to propose stricter regulations.

Common Core: Depending on action taken by state education officials, lawmakers may get involved again in the fight over Common Core standards. Key Republican leaders have written guidelines that keep the state out of the Common Core, but create Indiana standards that recognize students need to be prepared for the SAT and ACT college entrance exams.

Electronic privacy: Several Republican lawmakers plan to introduce bills that would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before tracking the electronic data of Hoosiers. Those measures come after The Star reported that Indiana State Police had acquired a device capable of tracking phone call data for hundreds of cell phones at a time.

Other education issues: Pence wants to provide a stipend for teachers who want to move to low-performing public schools or charter schools that serve primarily low-income students. He also wants to create a fund for innovative teachers and make it easier for charter school networks to operate.

Other tax issues: Pence also wants lawmakers to pass a law that would increase the state’s individual and dependent income tax exemptions by adjusting them for inflation. He also wants to introduce a new tax credit for Indiana parents who adopt.

The Star’s Statehouse team

Here’s a look at who will be covering this year’s session of the Indiana General Assembly.

Barb Berggoetz, a veteran reporter who has worked at The Star since 1985, is returning to covering the Statehouse after several years of focusing on wellness, fitness and consumer health issues. She has extensive experience writing about state education issues, K-12 schools, higher education, courts and the retail industry. Email: barb.berggoetz@indystar.com. Twitter: @barbberg.

Tony Cook has spent past year exploring the intersection between government and business as a member of The Star’s business and investigative teams. He has written about questionable pay raises for utility executives, allegations of self-dealing within a grant program funded by public riverboat casino money, and controversy surrounding a proposed coal gasification plant in Rockport. Before joining The Star in 2012, he worked at the Las Vegas Sun, the Toledo Blade, and the Cincinnati Post. Email: tony.cook@indystar.com. Twitter: @indystartony

Greg Weaver is the editor who will be guiding The Star’s Statehouse coverage. He covered his first session of the Indiana General Assembly in 1983 as a college reporter for the Ball State Daily News and developed the first computer database of Indiana campaign contributions as Statehouse reporter for The Evansville Courier in the early 1990s. He is now in his second stint as government editor at The Star, where over the past 20 years he has guided award-winning reporting on the deep influence of lobbyists, the ethics scandal surrounding Duke Energy’s Edwardsport plant and questionable grants from a casino-funded government program. Email: greg.weaver@indystar.com. Twitter: @BizWeaver.

Other members of The Star’s government and education team also will provide some coverage of the legislature this year. They include city hall reporter Jon Murray, John Russell on economic development and health care, Eric Weddle on K-12 education and Stephanie Wang on higher education.